Ida May Fuller, of Brattleboro, Vermont, receiving the first ever social security check.

In 1865 … the House of Representatives takes a giant step towards making the United States a nation where “all men are created equal” by ratifying what would become the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It passed 119 to 56 and by December of the next year the state’s ratified it and slavery was officially abolished.

Legendary lefty journalist Molly Ivins passed away today in 2007 … Here’s what the Texas Observer wrote about her at the time: “She remained convinced that Texas needed a progressive, independent voice to call the powerful to account and to stand up for the common folk.”